BOIL WATER ALERT
Mole Creek (Tasmania) – E.coli
July 1 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
July 15 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 3.1 MPN100/mL
July 23 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 3.1 MPN100/mL
July 29 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 8.5 MPN100/mL
August 5 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 3 MPN100/mL
August 11 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 4.2 MPN100/mL
September 1 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
September 9 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
September 15 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 14.8 MPN100/mL
September 29 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 6.3 MPN100/mL
October 5 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 3.1 MPN100/mL
October 19 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
October 29 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
November 3 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 2 MPN100/mL
November 11 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
November 20 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
November 24 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
December 1 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 5.2 MPN100/mL
December 10 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
December 15 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1.5 MPN100/mL
December 22 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
January 6 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 2 MPN100/mL
January 12 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 4.1 MPN100/mL
January 19 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 3.1 MPN100/mL
January 27 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 9.7 MPN100/mL
February 3 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 123.6 MPN100/mL
February 9 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 12.1 MPN100/mL
February 16 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 5.2 MPN100/mL
February 23 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 3.1 MPN100/mL
March 1 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
March 8 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 2 MPN100/mL
March 22 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 7.5 MPN100/mL
March 30 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1.5 MPN100/mL
April 5 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 4.1 MPN100/mL
April 12 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 3.1 MPN100/mL
May 4 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 26.2 MPN100/mL
May 14 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 4.1 MPN100/mL
June 28 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) Pioneer Drive – 1 MPN100/mL
2016/17: 6 E.coli exceedences. Poor microbiological performance can be attributed to a lack of barriers and the susceptibility to changes in quality from Mole Creek. The risk to public health is mitigated through the communication of the Permanent BWA to customers. Water was supplied from the new Mole Creek WTP from October 2016. The boil water alert was expected to be removed by August 2017.
A routine sample taken on 28 December 2017 returned a positive E.coli detection. A BWA was issued. Sample Taken on 31 December 2017 and 1 January 2018 were clear of E.coli and the BWA was removed on 1 January 2018.
Escherichia coli should not be detected in any 100 mL sample of drinking water. If detected
in drinking water, immediate action should be taken including investigation of potential
sources of faecal contamination.
“Coliforms are Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacteria that are capable of aerobic and facultative anaerobic growth in the presence of bile salts or other surface active agents with similar growth-inhibiting properties. They are found in large numbers in the faeces of humans and other warm-blooded animals, but many species also occur in the environment.
Thermotolerant coliforms are a sub-group of coliforms that are able to grow at 44.5 ± 0.2°C. E. coli is the most common thermotolerant coliform present in faeces and is regarded as the most specific indicator of recent faecal contamination because generally it is not capable of growth in the environment. In contrast, some other thermotolerant coliforms (including strains of Klebsiella, Citrobacter and Enterobacter) are able to grow in the environment and their presence is not necessarily related to faecal contamination. While tests for thermotolerant coliforms can be simpler than for E. coli, E. coli is considered a superior indicator for detecting faecal contamination…” ADWG 2011
Mole Creek – (Tasmania) – Colour
August 18 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Colour Apparent 26 PCU
November 30 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Colour Apparent 20 PCU
March 17 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Colour Apparent 62 PCU
June 16 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Colour Apparent 28 PCU
“… Colour is generally related to organic content, and while colour derived from natural sources such as humic and fulvic acids is not a health consideration, chlorination of such water can produce a variety of chlorinated organic compounds as by-products (see Section 6.3.2 on disinfection by-products). If the colour is high at the time of disinfection, then the water should be checked for disinfection by-products. It should be noted, however, that low colour at the time of disinfection does not necessarily mean that the concentration of disinfection by-products will be low…” ADWG 2011
Mole Creek – Tasmania – Turbidity
July 1 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 6.76 NTU
July 29 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 10.9 NTU
August 11 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 28.8 NTU
August 19 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 8.94 NTU
September 9 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 8.63 NTU
September 15 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 5.6 NTU
September 29 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 9.32 NTU
October 5 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 6.22 NTU
October 29 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 9.43 NTU
November 3 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 6.82 NTU
December 10 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 9.68 NTU
December 31 2015: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 12.5 NTU
January 6 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 7.96 NTU
January 12 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 10.6 NTU
February 3 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 30.3 NTU
February 9 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 10.3 NTU
February 23 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 11.6 NTU
March 8 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 5.06 NTU
March 15 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 5.56 NTU
March 22 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 5.51 NTU
April 5 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 6.72 NTU
April 12 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 5.55 NTU
May 4 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 6.74 NTU
June 14 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 12.7 NTU
June 28 2016: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 14.5 NTU
2016/17: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Turbidity 13.1 NTU (max), 2.17 NTU (mean)
Chlorine-resistant pathogen reduction: Where filtration alone is used as the water treatment
process to address identified risks from Cryptosporidium and Giardia, it is essential
that filtration is optimised and consequently the target for the turbidity of water leaving
individual filters should be less than 0.2 NTU, and should not exceed 0.5 NTU at any time
Disinfection: A turbidity of less than 1 NTU is desirable at the time of disinfection with
chlorine unless a higher value can be validated in a specific context.
Aesthetic: Based on aesthetic considerations, the turbidity should not exceed 5 NTU at the
consumer’s tap.
2019: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Iron
22/8/19: Mole Creek (Tasmania) – Iron 0.3305mg/L
Based on aesthetic considerations (precipitation of iron from solution and taste),
the concentration of iron in drinking water should not exceed 0.3 mg/L.
No health-based guideline value has been set for iron.
Iron has a taste threshold of about 0.3 mg/L in water, and becomes objectionable above 3 mg/L. High iron concentrations give water an undesirable rust-brown appearance and can cause staining of laundry and plumbing fittings, fouling of ion-exchange softeners, and blockages in irrigation systems. Growths of iron bacteria, which concentrate iron, may cause taste and odour problems and lead to pipe restrictions, blockages and corrosion. ADWG 2011